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i am bossy

Bossy’s Favorite Things.

pie-crust

Pie crust dough. And by the way, welcome to the ugliest food photography ever. There just isn’t a great way to photograph pie dough that is wrapped in plastic and sitting on a dirty refrigerator shelf. Or if there is, it certainly wasn’t happening around Bossy’s frantic house last week prior to rolling out these pie shells and filling them with creamy pumpkin.

Anyway. Bossy cooks and cooks and cooks, but she has never been a baker. Most of her pie crusts are too tough, or tasteless, which Bossy tried for years to remedy by adding more more more salt!

But then Bossy realized she was overworking her pie crust, and so she began collecting the dough in plastic wrap straight out of her Kitchen Aid mixer, and then combining it into a ball and allowing it to rest and rolling it out, always covered in plastic or parchment paper so her skin never dared touch the dough.

And then Bossy became all about the ice water, icy icy icy, and rolling the dough out quickly and rerefrigerating if necessary — and Bossy supposes rerefrigerating isn’t a word.

This helped. But then over the holidays Bossy and her daughter tried a cheap little pie-shell-helper gadget Bossy will tell you about tomorrow.

By the way — Crisco or butter? Usually pie crust fanatics are all one or
the other.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. My mother always used Crisco – makes a flakier crust. I buy the frozen crusts, then leave them in the freezer for a year or so and when they are good & expired I throw them out. I have made exactly one pie in my 60 years.

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  2. Neither. For proper pie crust, you must use lard along with butter. Preferably leaf lard (from around the kidneys) you render yourself. You may be gagging right now, but I swear to God, it will be the best crust ever.

    Not that I would know anything about this PERSONALLY, because I don’t make pie. But my mother-in-law has made approximately five million pies in her lifetime and she even won the blue ribbon at the county fair. And she uses half lard, half butter, so I’m gonna go with that.

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  4. Lard. Definitely lard. However, since I can make a very nice pie crust, but am incapable of getting it into the pie plate, I usually buy the frozen ones in the disposable tins. I did roast my own pumpkin this year, so that makes up for the frozen pie shell, right??

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  9. My friend taught me how to make the best pie crust in the world. A stick of butter-flavored Crisco, 2 teaspoons of milk, a teaspoon of salt, 6 tablespoons of BOILING water, and 2 and 1/2 cups of flour. Combine crisco, milk, salt and water. Beat quickly with a fork (should end up looking like melted cheese). Gradually add flour (still using fork). Form dough into ball. Cut in half. Roll each half out between two pieces of waxed paper.

    Easy peasy.

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  10. Best pie crust? Betty Crocker recipe, circa 1950 or so. Forget the Kitchenaid and do it with a pastry cutter. You can SEE the pieces of Crisco that are going to melt away and leave you with flaky, flaky layers. It takes a little getting used to, but it works. And that stuff about ice water and chilling? Definitely worthwhile.

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  11. OK Bossy, if you promise not to tell anyone, I’ll give you a secret for flaky pie crusts that I learned from a NEWSPAPER FOOD EDITOR: Instead of ice water, use cold white wine. This person (did I mention she’s a FOOD EDITOR?) explained that when the alcohol evaporates during baking it makes tiny little air pockets. Best of all, a pie crust takes a tiny bit of wine, leaving lots to drink!

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  14. Crisco, flour, tiny bit of salt, water as cold as you can get it. My mom used oil, my sister uses butter. Butter is a little better, but way easier in a cold climate with a food processor. Crisco is more forgiving of a tiny, warm kitchen. I made 5 pies over the last week-3 apple, one sweet potato, one pumpkin. All big hits, and not hard.

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  15. Salt Free Butter. Cold Cold Cold Saltless butter as your primary fat, with a touch of lard.

    And for the person who mentioned the wine – works the same with a tablespoon of vinegar to 3 tablespoons of ice water. Why waste the wine!

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  20. I haven’t made a pie crust since one experiment when I was 25, and then gave it up. So let me move off-topic and say, I like the bowl sitting behind the implants, I mean pie crust balls.

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  27. Crisco is my weapon of choice when it comes to destroying one’s waistline and brain function during holidays. For the pastry-challenged (how to make an apple pie): http://karenmaehr.blogspot.com/2008/10/it-softens-hands-while-you-do-dishes.html . (oh, and I posted today about the most divine scarves EVAH that I cannot have because alas I am still among the revelers of your Poverty Party, drinking a cheap Vodka appertif with soda crackers & tuna. Someone save me from myself. Are you less poor yet?)

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  29. some of both – I hate making pie crusts though which is why I have an apple crisp extravaganza recipe. maybe my husband that pie-lover-but-not-pie-maker, won’t notice the lack of crust. it’s on my blog under – amazing, I know – recipes.

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  30. If I actually break down and make a pie crust, I use the butter flavoured crisco .. and that neat little pie crust tool? the little zippered thing that lets you make it the perfect size and thickness without all that hassle of it inevitably sticking to your rolling pin or counter and stuff? Best. Invention. Ever.

    Otherwise, I’m all about the laziness and use the store bought ones that I just have to unroll into the plate 🙂

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  31. A couple ways.
    Frozen butter and a Cuisinart.

    Or the easy way: Crisco and a pastry blender.

    I’ve tried lard, and i think for it to work for me, i need to make in a walk-in freezer in January.

    i made 6 pies last week and had an apple one all to myself. i ATE THE WHOLE THING.

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  32. Lard, for sure, when I can find it. Since I moved away from the south (*sob*), I guess using a combo of butter and shortening would be cool.

    One thought: I’ve been reading a lot of food bloggers lately who have been arguing that it’s ridiculously easy to overwork a pie crust, particularly if you’re using a stand mixer. Maybe working it by hand is the key to a good pie crust?

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  34. Fail proof: Both Crisco and butter, and substitute HALF the ice water with chilled vodka. You will not believe how flaky and easy to roll out your pies are. It’s chemistry, and you can’t taste the vodka.

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  35. Lard makes the flakiest crust, butter makes the best tasting crust, and crisco falls in between. I like using a combination of crisco and butter or sometimes using butter flavored crisco.

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  38. Both, of course. Butter for flavor and Crisco for tenderness. Keep your fats cold, add your ice water little by little. Start with a pastry cutter, end with your fingertips. Gather it gently and press it together just enough to get it into a ball. Chill. Roll out on wax paper, invert paper, peel away. Prick bottom crust with fork.

    Reply

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